Monday 31 January 2011

MESIR: SEMANGAT MEMBARA

A nicely written motivation to the so-called pewaris negara..


MESIR: SEMANGAT MEMBARA

by Syuhaimi Zakaria on Monday, 31 January 2011 at 16:02
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

‘Hos NO-Mubarak’, ‘Jahanam Mubarak’, ‘We want change’, adalah antara perkataan-perkataan yang dilaungkan oleh rakyat-rakyat marhaen di bumi Mesir. InsyaAllah, melalui rancangan MesirKini, kami akan cuba membawakan kepada anda mengenai perkara-perkara yang perlu kita maklumi dan ketahui dalam situasi ini.

Situasi di sana kian membara, bermula daripada Tunisia, berarak sampai ke bumi Anbiya’. Alhamdulillah, perkara ini telah membuka sedikit sebanyak minat kita untuk mengetahui mengenai sejarah kita (Islam) terutamanya di Jazirah Arab. Saya tidak akan cuba untuk menjadi press al-Jazeera ataupun Sky news dengan membawakan kepada anda berita-berita terkini dan hangat, tetapi lebih kepada perkara awal sebelumnya, iaitu mengapa kebangkitan ini berlaku.

Kebangkitan rakyat di Mesir dan Tunisia tidak berlaku secara tiba-tiba, tidak umumnya seperti di Malaysia pasca 1998/1999 namun boleh dianalogikan seperti kebangkitan rakyat demonstrasi Baling pada tahun 1974 akibat penderitaan yang mereka alami. Menariknya, kebangkitan di Tunisia bermula apabila seorang PEMUDA berusia 26 tahun membakar dirinya akibat penderitaan dan kesusahan perniagaan yang pemuda itu alami. Pemuda yang menggerakkan kebangkitan sesuatu bangsa bukanlah perkara yang baru. Di dalam Al-Quran, Allah telah menceritakan mengenai peranan pemuda seperti dalam surah al-Kahfi ayat 9-26 dan juga yang kisah Ashabul Ukhdud (surah al-Buruj) yang dekat dengan kita dalam situasi pada situasi pada hari ini. Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh membuka Constantinople pada usia 19 tahun, Hassan Al-Banna menubuhkan Muslim Brotherhood pada usia awal 20an dan lain-lain lagi.

Di Tunisa, presiden Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali telah memegang tampuk pemerintahan semenjak 1987. Di Mesir, presiden Hosni Mubarak telah memegang tampuk pemerintahan selama 30 tahun, yang mana sekiranya kita meneliti persamaan kedua-duanya, mereka akan cuba memanjangkan tempoh pemerintahan mereka kerana terdapat pelbagai kesalahan yang mereka lakukan. Di Filipina, presiden Ferdinand Marcos di gulingkan oleh rakyat kerana rasuah yang berleluasa, di Thailand, bagaimana kita melihat Thaksin Shinawatra juga digulingkan kerana kes rasuah dan berbagai-bagi kes lain. Ironinya, pemain penting dalam menggerakkan kebangkitan rakyat ini adalah digerakkan oleh pemuda-pemuda dan juga pelajar-pelajar.

Keadaan umat Islam dan negara-negara Islam selepas kejatuhan Khalifah pada tahun 1923 amat menyedihkan. Bagaimana kita melihat semangat kebangsaan ataupun dalam bahasa kini dipanggil sebagai nasionalisme telah melemahkan agama kita. Sekiranya anda menonton Lawrance of Arabia, semangat kebangsaan yang mana setiap negara arab masing-masing melaungkan bahawa bangsa mereka lebih berhak untuk memgang negara mereka, yang melebihi semangat agama, talah menyebabkan sistem khalifah lemah dan akhirnya berpecah. Ketika perang Arab-Israel 1967, di antara negara-negara arab seperti Mesir, Jordan dan Syiria melawan Israel yang kecil itu, namun bangsa-bangsa Arab yang begitu mahir berperang dan gagah sepertimana yang selalu kita baca dalam sejarah umat Islam lemas dan tewas kepada Israel. Ini kerana masing-masing ingin merebut kejayaan secara berseorangan dan ingin diishtiharkan sebagai jaguh umat Islam. Ada pula yang berperang hanyalah kerana desakan daripada rakyat dan bukanlah atas semangat agama. Akhirnya, Palestin terus merana dan negara-negara Arab masih terlena.  

Sesungguhnya, jika kita rincikan pengamatan terhadap revolusi ini, kita akan dapat lihat bahawa pertentangan yang berlaku bukanlah antara rakyat marhaen dengan pemimpin gila kuasa akan tetapi pertembungan antara Islam dan juganationalism, secularism dan ism yang lain. Sunnahtullah telah menetapkan roda pusingan bagi golongan yang berpaling daripada Islam pasti akan digantikan dengan golongan yang menegakkannya (al-Maidah:54). Sekarang terpulanglah kepada kita untuk mentahqiqkan pula janji syariatullah agar semi revolusi ini menjadi seindah perjuangan Rasulullah.

PERSATUAN PELAJAR ISLAM MALAYSIA IRELAND (PPIMI)

Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidupku,dan matiku hanya semata-mata bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam.

Nur Suhaila Zulkifli
Nottingham.

Sunday 30 January 2011

Rindu Abah..

Tak tahu kenapa. Tiba-tiba teringat pada babak Angah yang menelefon ayahnya untuk meminta maaf dalam Syurgamu Ramadhan. Saat itu, dia mendengar setiap detik kemalangan yang menimpa kedua ibu bapanya. Si anak itu adalah insan terakhir yang bercakap dengan bapanya yang pernah disakitinya. Dia tahu dia telah menjadi si yatim piatu.


Allah. Sampai bila, kita akan lebih menghargai ibu bapa kita yang masih ada.

Lantas telefon dicapai. Tawakal, sedangkan jam sudah tunjuk pukul 4.40 petang. 12.40 tengah malam di Malaysia. Tahu, abah mungkin sedang bekerja sekarang di Butterworth. Tapi rasa rindu tetap juga mahu dilepaskan padanya. Harapan hati, biarlah waktu ini dia sedang dalam masa rehat.

"Hello." Alhamdulillah, ya Allah.. Nada suara yang sebak cuba sedaya upaya disembunyikan.

Cakap tak lama pun. Hanya bertanya khabar itu dan ini. Waktu rehatnya pun bakal berakhir sekejap lagi. Minum pagi, katanya.

"Tak de apa-apa la eh kat sana? " tanyanya, memastikan puteri sulungnya dalam keadaan baik di sini.

"Orang ok je kat sini, Abah.. Cukup makan sume," cuba hidupkan suasana. Sedangkan, saat talian diletakkan , Tuhan sahaja yang tahu..

Untuk seorang ibu dan bapa, anak mereka akan tetap bayi kecil mereka. Walaupun anak itu sudah menjadi dewasa, sudah menjadi ibu atau bapa kepada cucu mereka. Tapi anak itu akan tetap bayi di mata mereka.

"Awak, mana ada hubungan anak dengan mak ayah yang tak tergugat. Mungkin pergaduhan itu ada, tapi ia sekadar salah faham. Percayalah, terasa hati mana pun ibu bapa kita pada kita, kita tetap anak mereka. Tak kisahlah kita tak ngam dengan ayah kita atau tak.. Kita tetap anaknya. " nasihat saya pada seorang adik di hadapan saya.

Dalam masa yang sama, cuba sembunyikan sebak di hati. Kerana kata-kata yang dilafazkan itu, ditujukan pada diri sendiri juga. Muhasabah untuk diri, yang sentiasa berdegil dan keras kepala pada kedua ibu bapanya.

Ma pernah bagitahu, saya memang macam Abah. Keras kepala dan ada angin sendiri. Itu sebabnya kadang-kadang akan timbul percakaran antara kami berdua. Tambah buruk, ego saya lebih tinggi dari Abah. Ya Allah.. berdosanya saya.

Waktu itu hujan. Agak lebat. Motor Suzuki Abah yang sama tua dengan saya itu, kami bonceng. Hujan diredah juga, memandangkan saya perlu dihantar pulang ke asrama sebelum 4 petang. Baju hujan yang dipakai cukup sekadar menahan air dari membasahi pakaian kami, tapi tidak mampu mengurangkan kepayahan Abah membawa motor dalam keadaan seperti itu.

Hujan tidak henti turun sepanjang perjalanan. Ada hikmah juga hujan turun ketika itu. Setidaknya, Abah tidak akan nampak air mata yang mengalir. "Ya Allah, andai aku jadi anak yang derhaka, Kau sambarlah aku dengan petir."

Rindu ini datang bertamu. Tapi insan ini masih juga selalu menyakiti insan yang dirinduinya. Ya Allah, bantulah aku mengubah diriku.

Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidupku,dan matiku hanya semata-mata bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam.

Nur Suhaila Zulkifli
Nottingham.

Thursday 20 January 2011

Bersyukurlah dengan Apa yang Ada

Kisah benar yang seakan tidak pernah tahu pun kewujudannya dalam alam ini. Anak kecil berusia 6 tahun yang menghidap AIDS dan tinggal seorang diri di pergunungan.

Minda manusia sukar diubah. Perlunya pada pendidikan dan tarbiyah yang berterusan. AIDS tidak boleh dijangkiti dengan begitu mudah. Hatta berkongsi minuman pun tidak menyebabkan virus HIV menyerang pertahanan tubuh anda. Sampaikan doktor yang berpendidikan pun, takut nak merawat. Apa halnya?

Meskipun anak kecil itu mendapat bantuan secukupnya, dia masih seorang anak yang perlukan perlindungan dan kasih sayang. Hanya kerana AIDS, dia seolah hilang nilai sebagai seorang manusia. Umpama membiarkan dia pergi meninggal dunia seorang diri.

Dia tidak berdosa untuk diuji sedemikan rupa. Ambillah iktibar agar kita tidak mendatangkan masalah pada generasi yang bakal kita lahirkan.

Manusia angkuh bila menjawab dia mampu memegang amanah menjadi khalifah di atas muka bumi. Namun, hakikat sebenarnya, makhluk lain lebih bertasbih dan berbuat kebajikan dari manusia itu sendiri.

Kita rasa kita yang hidup paling susah, kita yang paling tidak pandai, kita yang tak cukup kelengkapan untuk belajar, namun cuba kita jadikan A-Long sebagai dasar pandang kita. Dia tidak bersekolah tapi ada initiasif sendiri untuk belajar.

Allahu akbar.. Moga Allah lindungi dirinya dan bukakan hati manusia untuk menerimanya.

6-Year-Old AIDS Orphan A-Long Lives Alone In Guangxits
by Fauna on Tuesday, November 16, 2010


From QQ: (with additional photographs from Sina)
Guangxi 6-year-old AIDS orphan lives alone, eats rice and vegetables without oil or salt yet still eats with relish

In your childhood, what were you doing? Begging daddy to buy a toy, being pressed by mommy to learn a foreign language, taking the pocket change that grandma secretly gave you, sharing the bubblegum you just bought with your friends… When you couldn’t get what you wanted, did you sigh like a little adult: “It sucks being a child!” However, A-Long wouldn’t. By himself, he washes his laundry and makes his meals. Alone, he feeds the chickens and raises the dog. Alone, he studies and learns to read. Alone, he goes to sleep. A-Long never feels it sucks being himself, even though he is only 6-years-old this year.


A one person “home”

Niuchepin Village at the foot of Liuzhou City’s Malu Mountain is a village built on the mountain, the cement road beginning at the foot of the mountain and spreading upward, both sides lined with buildings. The further up the mountain you go, the narrower the road becomes, and the scale of the buildings too become smaller. Halfway up the mountain, all that is left is a dusty mud road, with weeds all around. At the end of the road are 3 casually built single story cement block cottages that don’t even have windows. November 2, accompanied by a staff worker of the village committee, this reporter saw the scene at the top [end of this road].

This here is 6-year-old A-Long’s home, a one person “home”. 

Amongst them, one stand-alone small building, owing to having a “stove” made of several piled up cement block blocks and a ceramic bed pan installed as a “toilet” and thus its “facilities” were relatively complete, was A-long’s “bedroom”. For the other two connected buildings, dilapidated wooden doors symbolically them away, though there were no locks. As it is understood, A-Long once lived in one of those [two] buildings, but because his father passed away there, no one has gone near those two buildings since. A-Long himself has not entered them again, only often walking back and forth in front of the door. “Is it because you feel your dad is still inside sleeping?” A-Long did not reply, hesitating for a moment before running away.


In front of the small building is a very large open area. It is the main area A-Long spends most of his time normally, and the one thing that he does the most is embracing the dog he calls “Lao Hei” ["Old Black", maybe like "Blackie"], staring blankly at the road that leads to the outside world. After his father passed away, A-Long has yet to go down the mountain again.

Seeing an uncle and auntie [not related, often simply means an older man and woman] he recognizes from far away, A-Long appears very happy. The village committee’s staff worker takes out a box of cookies/crackers and bananas, very naturally places them in the room, and warns A-Long not to eat the cookies as a meal, this obviously not being the first time giving A-Long something. Hearing what uncle said, A-Long adorably nodded his head, and grinned.


A one person future

The staff worker told this reporter that A-Long’s situation is really worrisome, but all the village committee can do is guarantee that he doesn’t have to worry about food and clothing at the moment. Although they have already helped him apply for social security/welfare benefits, 70 yuan a month plus the support of some kind-hearted people alone is far from enough for A-long to grow up on. “No food to eat or clothes to wear, that we can buy. But A-Long’s medical care, education, and upbringing, what we can do is not much.”

So what are other government departments doing?


A relevant representative of Liuzhou City’s disease control center HIV prevention department told this reporter that with regards to A-Long’s medical condition, as long as it involves anti-HIV medication it is free, but they cannot do anything for any medication outside of this.

The city’s civil affairs bureau’s staff delivered to A-Long two quilts, as well as a social security/welfare benefits account passbook. The staff said, what A-Long applied for is rural social security, which is 70 yuan every month right now, but will increase to 100 yuan a month next year. Other than that, they will also often send A-Long some living supplies, guaranteeing that he will not starve or suffer the cold. However, owning to A-Long’s family situation being relatively complicated, the social welfare organization is unable to adopt him, only able to continue communicating with A-Long’s relatives, fighting for A-Long’s rights and interests.


On the education side, though A-Long is of school age, for him to sit in a classroom attending lessons like his peers is beset with difficulties.

As it is understood, A-Long has previously attended one term at the Malu Mountain primary school’s preschool class, but then stopped. The school principal Chen Xiyou says the management of the preschool class is different from the elementary classes, that the preschool class at the time just happened to have a space, and thus had allowed him to attend.

Principal Chen says that after A-Long’s father passed away, the information that A-Long’s parents had died because of AIDS began circulating in the village, and A-Long’s medical examination showed that he was HIV-positive, so if A-Long were to really come to school, then the school would face a lot of pressure [problems] too. “The school’s preschool class plus the first and second grades have one to two hundred people. With this many little children of the same age, it is difficult to avoid the common arguments and fights, so what would the parents of other students think?”


According to disclosures by someone familiar with the situation, after school started in September, A-Long’s grandmother had wanted to send A-Long to attend first grade, but when parents learned of it, they sent a group letter in protest, the school succumbed to the pressure and did not agree to admit A-Long to the school.

“Considering his real life situation, our school immediately submitted a report to the education department concerning this matter. The education department, the civil administration bureau, and the village committee have all already held collective meetings to discuss A-Long’s matter, but a decision/conclusion has not yet been made.” As the school principal was saying this, a nearby parent interrupted to say: “If he really comes to school to attend class, then I can only transfer my own child to another school. I would be too worried.”


After much effort, this reporter was able to get in touch with a non-governmental organization in Nanning that take care of AIDS orphans. A member of this organization expressed that they can indeed accept AIDS orphans, but they have to see if A-Long’s circumstances are suitable. The staff member said it is because their method is to arrange foster care, but it isn’t the best way of raising a child for the child. If A-Long has relatives, they still hope that the relatives can be persuaded to adopt A-Long. “A family’s warmth and the care of relatives is something that foster care cannot give.” At the same time, the staff member also expressed that they will go a step further in understanding A-Long’s family situation, and if it is necessary, they can provide A-Long help.


Only one person to rely on

As it is understood, A-Long’s father was a villager of Niuchepin Village and his mother married into the village. Six years ago, A-Long’s parents built the house where they lived until they passed away, leaving A-Long to live there alone until this day.

At the time, why did A-Long’s parents suddenly move onto the mountain so far away from the village? The villagers all refuse to say why.

A villager who knows said that A-Long’s father had spent over ten years out of the village when he was young, and it is said that it was because he had gone to jail. When it comes to just released inmates, everyone will have some prejudices, “so maybe it was because of this that they did not have very good relations with everyone else.”


The only person who is close with A-Long is his 84-year-old grandmother. His grandmother often comes to see him, but it is not everyday that she comes. That afternoon, his grandmother happened to come by, and so A-Long did not have to feed the chickens, nor did he have to pick the vegetables himself, and could play a little more. His grandmother had planted two plots of vegetables in the open area beside the house, one plot of cabbage, one plot of leeks/chives. She says this is normally enough for A-Long to eat.

His grandmother lives in another of her son’s home, and it takes her about 15 minutes to walk here where A-Long lives. She normally comes in the afternoons, and cooks for A-Long before leaving. As for things like bathing and the laundry, A-Long says he knows how to do them himself, that he can wash [the laundry] clean, and as long as he stands on a stool when drying the laundry, he can reach the clothes drying line.


This reporter asked the grandmother if she was able to live here and raise A-Long until he is big? She hesitantly said that she herself is a little afraid of living here. Could she take A-Long to his uncle’s place to live? The grandmother did not answer, lowered her head, and sorted the cabbage she had just picked.

The village [committee's] staff workers are also people whom A-Long has had relatively more contact with, and he knows that these uncles and aunties really care about him. Every time they come to see him, they will bring good things to eat and new clothes. A while ago, the temperature had suddenly dropped very sharply, and one auntie came on consecutive nights to deliver quilts/blankets and winter clothing. Apart from this, there are many kind-hearted anonymous city residents who will also come visit A-Long, but almost no one has brought up the problem of raising A-Long. A-Long says often there are people who will give him money, but he doesn’t want to use [that money], saving it up instead. “What he needs is not only material help,” says one of the staff workers.


One person’s sadness

The “problem” that Ms. Liang refers to is not only because A-Long lacks the upbringing from two parents, but rather the more important reason that A-Long is an HIV carrier.

According to those in the know, before A-Long’s mother passed away last year, she was severely sick, her entire person becoming very gaunt and at the time everyone though she had contracted tuberculosis. Then not long after, A-Long’s father also had the same symptoms, a robust man very quickly becoming nothing more than a layer of skin. At this time, the rumors began in the village, that the two of them had contracted AIDS. This rumor was confirmed when A-Long’s father entered the hospital, and everyone also began to suspect A-Long. Despite all this, young A-Long did not understand, and he only knew that daddy had gotten the same sickness as mommy, and was soon going to die.


According to the village committee staff worker, before A-Long’s father passed away, he had become so weak that he could not get out of bed, much less take care of A-Long. At that time, A-Long did not yet know how to cook by himself, and could only depend on his neighbors to give him some food to eat. A-Long’s father passed away at noon one day in July, and at the time, apart from A-Long watching over him by his side, no one else knew. Only until dinner-time when neighbor Miss Liang did not see A-Long did she discover that her old friend had already been dead for a long time.

Based on the recollection of the staff worker on the scene at the time, after receiving the news, they immediately rushed here [to A-Long's home]. A-Long, who had been by his father’s side the entire time, came out upon hearing movement, and then calmly told him [the staff worker]: “Uncle, my daddy died, just like my mommy…” Little A-Long did not cry, his silence breaking everyone’s hearts.


Later, owning to some coordination issues, A-Long’s father’s remains were not sent to the funeral parlor until the second day. IN this time, A-Long continued to quietly stay by his father’s side, watching the remains the entire night. From that moment on, A-Long has never again talked about “daddy”.

As it is understood, there were people who wanted to adopt A-Long at the time, but then when everything was finally prepared, A-Long was examined and determined to be HIV-positive, which is to say that A-Long is an HIV carrier.

The kind-hearted people backed out, and the villagers became fearful.

A-Long doesn’t know what “AIDS” is, he only knows that his playmates now will not come near him; that he was about to enter first grade but has now been told to “stay home and await notice”; that when his hand was burned by hot water, the doctor did not dare treat the wound; even that his grandmother, the only person he could count on, also isn’t willing to live with him. The only one to be with him as always was Old Black.

Almost overnight, A-Long grew up a lot. Even though his family has met misfortune after misfortune, A-Long has not shed any tears. Only 6-years-old, he has learned how to cook and do the laundry, has learned how to do things according to the time of day, has learned how to read and write by himself, and has learned how to live on alone.


One person’s happiness

When facing strangers coming to visit, at first A-Long was a little shy, but as a child, he very quickly became excited, striking poses for this reporter’s camera. Excitedly, he even performed some “Chinese kungfu”. It is hard to believe that A-Long, so innocent and lively, is someone who has lost both parents, and an orphan that lives alone.

A-Long doesn’t actually believe that there is anything bad about living alone, because he has “Old Black”.


“Old Black” is a black-colored female mutt that A-Long has raised for many years. Ever since A-Long became aware, “Old Black” has been at his side, and remains to this day as A-Long’s closest companion. At night when A-Long goes to sleep, he never closes the door because “Old Black” sometimes will sleep with him in the house and sometimes sleeps at the door, guarding him. “Old Black” doesn’t like to bark and when facing strangers that suddenly appear she even somewhat shyly hides in the house. However, as long as A-Long calls “Old Black”, she will immediately run to his side, and affectionately run circles around him. A-Long holds up “Old Black’s two front legs, his head near her’s, and smiles and laughs happily. A human and a dog cannot talk with each other, but they also need not talk with each other.


A 6-year-old little boy should have many playmates with whom to get into trouble with, but A-Long doesn’t. This reporter asked A-Long what friends he normally plays with? He was quiet for a long time before quietly saying that there was a little kid surnamed Liang that occasionally will come and play with him, but that none of his previous schoolmates will play with him anymore. A-Long also doesn’t want to go out and play with the village children, because he is not familiar with them. Even though he says this, A-Long still stares at the road outside [his home], his expression sad.

The child surnamed Liang is Miss Liang’s relative. She told this reporter that it was her family who does not allow her to come play with A-Long, because they are afraid of “an accident happening”. “Other little children probably also are afraid of this”.


A one person dinner

When the sky turned dark, A-Long started to prepare dinner.

“You know how to cook by yourself?” A-Long nodded his head, and even raised his left hand to show this reporter. On his left hand between the thumb and index finger was a very large scab, shocking on such a small little hand. A-Long however was nonchalant, saying that he had accidentally burned himself a few days ago when cooking, but now it is almost healed.

“Did you go to the hospital to have it looked at?” A-Long did not respond. The staff worker that had accompanied this reporter helplessly related: “When he was injured, no one knew. It was only the day after that someone took him to the clinic after finding out, but they weren’t willing to tend to it, so all we could do was dab some Merbromin…”


At this time, A-Long was busy in the “kitchen”, putting rice in the aluminum pot, pouring in water. This reporter reminded him: “That’s too much water, right? You’ll be making rice porridge this way!” He didn’t make a sound, and placed the pot on the “stove”. The speed at which A-Long started a fire was amazing, snapping a few dry twigs and stuffing them under the pot, then lighting some waste paper and stuffing it in, and within a few seconds, the dry twigs were alight.

After over 10 minutes, the rice was almost done. A-Long opened the lid and threw in several cabbage hearts. The extra water earlier was just enough to cook the cabbage hearts. Very quickly, dinner was ready. Plain rice mixed with some cabbage hearts, no oil nor salt, much less any other condiments, yet A-Long bite after bite still ate with relish. He said that it was too much for one person to finish, that the leftovers are for “Old Black” to eat.


Even though there is no oil nor salt, for A-Long, being able to have dinner is already a very blessed thing. Recently, A-Long had just received 20kg of rice and 5kg of noodles from a kind-hearted person, which is enough for him to eat for some time. However, when he is out of food, he can only rely on neighbor Miss Liang’s family for support. Liang was A-Long’s father’s old friend, three years ago opening a cement brick site nearby, and the people A-Long sees the most are Miss Liang’s family.

“Ever since his daddy passed away, A-Long himself has not left this yard. There have been kind-hearted people who have come and given money, and we tell him to go out and buy some thing to eat, but he isn’t willing to go. Sometimes he will look around at our door/entrance, and we guess that he is out of food, so we will have him bring a bowl over, and fill a bowl of rice and vegetables, as well as give him a few apples that we normally buy,” Liang said.


Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidupku,dan matiku hanya semata-mata bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam.

Nur Suhaila Zulkifli
Nottingham.

Sunday 9 January 2011

Kita Boleh!

Peringatan yang diterima dari seorang sahabat. Tiada butang 'like' untuk ditekan, namun harapnya saya boleh panjangkan kata-kata motivasi ini.

Teringat 15 tahun yang lepas, kita semua masih lagi seorang kanak-kanak yang nakal. Gula-gula menjadi makanan kegemaran kita mengalahkan Chicken chop mahupun Nasi ayam. Apabila dimarahi oleh emak kerana terlalu banyak makan gula-gula, kite selalu hentakkan kaki sebagai tanda protes. Dalam hati "apalah mak ni, orang nak makan gula-gula sikit pun tak boleh!". Siapa sangka, setelah dewasa gula-gula sudah amat jarang disentuh oleh kita semua kerana natijahnya yang amat dahsyat, menyebabkan kite boleh kahwin lewat akibat gigi yang rongak.

10 tahun yang lalu juga, kerap kali kita dipaksa oleh ibu untuk membuka buku. Walaupun tiada xbox mahupun ps3, memangkah gasing orang lain lebih kita minati daripada membuka buku kajian tempatan mahupun buku sains. Menghafal fakta bahawa harimau adelah karnivor dan kambing adelah herbivor adalah satu aktiviti yang sangat membosankan jika dibandingkan dengan aktiviti bermain galah panjang bersama rakan-rakan. Semuanya hanya kerana kita masih belum cukup memahami "kenapa aku perlu belajar".

Kini, masing-masing sudah berada di universiti. Tekanan demi tekanan terpaksa kita alami untuk berjaya. Menariknya sekarang, kita tidak perlu lagi dipaksa oleh ibu mahupun ayah. Tiada lagi cubitan di pinggang "Abu, buka buku cepat!!". Masing-masing sudah matang untuk membuka buku dan menyiapkan assignment.

Namun, segalanya tidak lagi mudah seperti dahulu. Sedar atau tidak, setiap hari akan ade tekanan dalam hidup kita hanya kerana kita sudah tahu "kenapa aku perlu belajar". Namun kite semua perlu yakin bahawa sehebat mana pun kita berusaha, hanya Allah yang menentukan segala-galanya. Maka mintalah dengan Allah. Adakah kita sudah cukup meminta dengan Allah?

Bagi siapa yang masih lemah semangat, mungkin boleh nyanyi lagu fikirkan boleh ataupun Gemuruh!! InshaAllah, Kita semua BOLEH!!.. (Tapi lepas tu mungkin kene pasang balik lagu Menanti Di Barzakh ye..)

SIHAT bukanlah penentu kita akan berjaya dan SAKIT bukanlah penanda yang kita akan gagal. Melihatkan keadaan arwah Mas Afzal sewaktu di tahun akhir, kesukarannya jauh lebih berat jika dibandingkan dengan kita. Arwah telah membuktikan beliau boleh berjaya, siapa pula kita untuk menafikannya.

Sekian. Selamat Berjaya semua!!!!

Bittaufiq wan najah fil imtihan!

Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidupku,dan matiku hanya semata-mata bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam.

Nur Suhaila Zulkifli
Nottingham.

Friday 7 January 2011

Hikmah Tsunami

SubhanaAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu akbar!


Hai orang-orang yang beriman, barangsiapa di antara kamu yang murtad dari agamanya, Maka kelak Allah akan mendatangkan suatu kaum yang Allah mencintai mereka dan merekapun mencintaiNya, yang bersikap lemah Lembut terhadap orang yang mukmin, yang bersikap keras terhadap orang-orang kafir, yang berjihad dijalan Allah, dan yang tidak takut kepada celaan orang yang suka mencela. Itulah karunia Allah, diberikan-Nya kepada siapa yang dikehendaki-Nya, dan Allah Maha luas (pemberian-Nya), lagi Maha Mengetahui. (Surah Al-Ma'idah: 54) 



Kita pun, nak tunggu bencana datang dulu ke, baru nak insaf?

Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidupku,dan matiku hanya semata-mata bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam. 


Nur Suhaila Zulkifli 
Nottingham.

Winter in My Heart

A brilliant post, MasyaAllah written by a brother who was one of the participants of FOSIS Winter Conference 2010. I did plan to write a sharing too, but poor me, still struggling to divide my time wisely.

Therefore, hope this review will compensate that. What I can say about the event is, it is marvellous. Being the one and only Malaysian, or correctly the only South-East Asian, I really have a sweet moments among the sisters (all who I 've never knew or met before).

Thanks Allah, for giving me such an opportunity to feel the ukhuwah deep inside in my heart, for Your sake. Two days were just enough to glue the memories firmly in my soul.

Hope to see all of you again. If not in this dunya, may we meet in the jannah. InsyaAllah. Please make duaa..

Cambridge’s Classic Chocolate Cheese Cake: FOSIS Winter Council Conference

Reflections by: birdkhan

About a month or so ago…
Normal post fajir routine: laptop, Mozilla, gmail. Oh hello what’s this?
Nada Mansy [Team FOSIS] November Shout-out! … hmm… what’s this one all about then?
‘CLICK’, (loading…loading…loading [curse you Hull Internet]…load) …ah finally… (Scrolling down, FOSIS logo)…
Gasp!

FOSISWINTERCONFERENCE

OH MY GOD! Omygod omygod omygod!!! TOO SIK… woah, hold up… University of Sussex, where is that?

Google map, search: University of Sussex, enter … (loading…) BRIGHTON?!! BRIGHTON! Where is Brighton (zoom out)? OH MY DAYS, it’s on the other end of middle earth… (thetrainline.com, train times and fares) … nope, no way Jose Mourinho, I’m not going! And I don’t finish classes by then either. RUBBISH!

A Weekish later

Amal Saffour (no subject):
“You have to come to Winter Annual Conference… I accept no excuses” … (sighing and feeling defeated) … ok, fi sabilillah.

During the course of the next week a great deal of research was done on the cheapest way to get to Brighton. The outcome was hardly bright; rather it was grim as Grimsby. A painfully long and pricey trip was ahead of us.

A weekish before Winter Annual Conference (WAC)

Nada Mansy [TEAM FOSIS] – a special message for you from our brother Salman
What does this dodo want? Does he think he can make things better with a smiley face?“Salam… blah blah.. Winter conference next week… blah blah… update…”O BALLE!!! (Victory dance) … it’s in CAMBRIDGE! Salman, you legend!

The next few days were a blur. All I knew was that inshallah I will be going to the wikidest thing ever.

Friday 10th December 2010

Sleeping bag, check. Winter clothes and FOSIS hoody, check, check. Pen and paper, check. IPod check. National rail card, check. One Sudanese friend and one Belgian/Moroccan-French speaking friend, check, check.

Ahead of us lay a 3 and a bit hour journey with 2 changes to Cambridge. With a satisfied smile and an excited mood, I could not wait to arrive in Cambridge and meet my FOSIS family. May sound pretty sad that FOSIS conferences make me excited, but then again I do live in Hull:one begins to appreciate the little things in life. Throughout the journey, memories of my last WAC were coming back to me.

Whilst my Moroccan friend was acting like a typical tourist taking photos, and the other doing what he does best – sleep (stereotypes can be so true at times) – I was mentally preparing myself for the weekend to come. Islamic lectures, brothers’ jokes, heated discussions and best of all, jam3 wa qasar (combining and shortening of prayers) – who wouldn’t feel excited? Hit Cambridge, and we’re greeted by a dude with an afro, wearing a deep Sufi green scarf – things couldn’t have started on a better note.

Friday was mainly for the early birds… or those birds that had to fly from far. We nested in the Abu Bakr mosque conveniently round the corner from Mill Road, the halal food road of Cambridge. Once arrived, familiar faces began to appear and the usual fiqh of greeting was adhered to: a combination of long hugs, wrestling, crushing and brotherly love. Then meeting the new faces with a smile, a handshake and if you felt like it, a power-slam (although that is rare).

However it continues to amaze me how only in a matter of hours strangers, could feel like your long lost friends and siblings. The reason is quite simple; no brownie points for guessing that it is because of our beautiful religion of Islam. Humans are not very different physiologically or in psychological behaviour (trust me, I’m a medic). Rather the differences lie in our ideological perceptions of the world and our relation to it. The greatness of Islam is that it even unites us on the ideological basis – Muslims across the globe believe and follow the same Quran that states,

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

And I (Allâh) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).(Surah Dhariyat, Ayat 56)

A pillar of our faith is that the best of worshippers is the Mercy to Mankind – the coolness of our eyes – our beloved Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. So we are all united in our duty to follow his sunnah, his practice. The sugar on top is the fact that we are brought together at this event by one common cause, the betterment of the youth whether Muslim or not. So when I meet a certain Salman Waqar (Sally as he is known to some) after months of being apart, the love just automatically flows. Then again he does look very similar to me (‘No,’ to the Arabs reading this; we are not all the same).

This outburst of emotions did make us quite hungry, so to Mill Road we marched. And although the correct sunnah of FOSIS/ISoc brothers is to celebrate unity with fried chicken, to our disappointment, and for some, a horror, Chicken Cottage was already invaded by a sea of hijabs (what is the world coming to? *sigh *). None of us were brave enough to order a 2 piece chicken meal; a 4 piece meal would have been suicide. A massive Turkish meal with rice and lamb was not entirely a bad substitute, Alhamdulillah. Once fed and dopamine levels at their highest, sweet slumber was fluting its tune and like children to the Piped Piper, we followed. At least I did; not too sure about the others. Food had increased their energy levels and only a Royal Rumble would have settled them to sleep, and boy did the mosque rumble. Interestingly after every rumble it would be followed with boyish giggles. I on the other hand, dropped like a rock.

Saturday 11th December

“ALLAHUAKBAR, ALLAHUAKBAR!!! ….“ The perks of sleeping in a mosque; you can’t miss salah. The Azan blasted out of the speakers and right into my heart, causing it to jolt in surprise. It’s a miracle that I didn’t jump and hit my head on the ceiling. Regardless, I was awake and fajir salah took place soon after, Alhamdulillah. Whilst most of the shabaab began crawling back to their sleeping bags and craving for the post-fajir nap (a class A drug), there was one group that looked fresh as ever – ‘the freshies’.

Technically being one, my ‘freshy-radar’ detected their presence. To be fair, they are quite easy to spot. They huddle together, their skins definitely not from Topman nor Next. During winter they are coated with enough layers to withstand an Antarctic blizzard, they always travel heavy and most often than not, they are muttering away with a friend in a language other than English. They have odd practices as well like sleeping early, waking up early and drinking tea like water.
Bless ‘em, they become so happy learning a new English phrase, “Hasan, why you take za Mickey? (Laughter)” The more classic symptoms are shown by postgraduate students. We undergraduates are harder to detect – we subtly infiltrate our hosts, slowly but surely changing our accent until we dissolve in with our UK peers. The ones we had here though were postgraduates, and they were Arabs, and one of them was Masri Ya GAMA3A (Egyptian, O people)!

As I was flirting with idea of a nap, the Masri brother, and I’m not making this up, called out, “YA SABAAAAAA’,” an Arabic chant. Basically he wanted our attention so that we could have a Quran circle . Although my nafs was saying “longage,” I joined them. I hadn’t sat in a Quran circle for a long time. We sat and recited Surah Muhammad, a beautiful surah with gems throughout. Our Masri brother turned out to be some wikid qari; he busted out the AbdulBasit in him – very beautiful ma’shAllah. This was followed by a Tafsir and one ayat that struck me the most was,

فَلَا تَهِنُوا وَتَدْعُوا إِلَى السَّلْمِ وَأَنتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ وَاللَّـهُ مَعَكُمْ وَلَن يَتِرَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ

So do not weaken and call for peace while you are superior; and Allah is with you and will never deprive you of [the reward of] your deeds (Surah Mohammad Ayat 35)

Is there anything else that we Muslims need other than Allah? He says He is with us and He calls us superior than the rest of the people on earth and our command is to call for peace. SubhanAllah!

مَا قَدَرُوا اللَّـهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ

They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might. (Surah Al Hajj Ayat 74)

This was truly the perfect start for the day. Once the spirit was fuelled, the belly needed its portion and a light breakfast did the job. Now that time was short and we needed to be at the lecture theatre soon, we got ready to leave – I was wearing my shiny FOSIS hoody, oh yeah!
We left the mosque as a group, led by an Amir who didn’t know Cambridge, but was armed with a Google map on his mobile phone. It so happened that EDL were doing their march today, and surprise, surprise, just as we left the mosque a car drove past, “GO HOME PAKIS!” It was disappointing. This is Cambridge, an educated place with educated people and where you probably receive a degree for just being born here. Reality is quite tasteless, but we just marched on.
The city was very beautiful; the parks, the churches, the colleges, the markets, the pavements… everything was oozing some grand history. Everything said, “Look at me” in a subtle and humble way and it is quite easy to just lose yourself in the scenery. You could be sure that my Belgian/Moroccan-French speaking friend had his IPhone out going trigger happy with his camera app.

Today was the official start of the Winter Annual Conference and our location was the prestigious Gonville & Caius College. You enter through the gate of Humility, greeted by the typical courtyards with lawns and through the gate of Virtue and into the lecture theatre passing the gate of Honour. Reading its history, 12 Noble prize winners have hailed from this college and many notable personalities have or still reside here including Stephen Hawkings, Francis Crick (the co discoverer of the DNA structure) and funnily enough, Jimmy Carr. The line up from FOSIS this year looked quite promising and exciting, but as with many student events, you can’t always guarantee the agenda to be the one that is proposed because of obvious problems that could occur. However a good event is one that is flexible enough to accommodate for changes without leaving the crowd annoyed, and ma’shAllah, FOSIS did this very well.

I don’t know how to describe the day except to call it a perfect chocolate cheese cake. Starting from the bottom with the crumbly bit and the soft cheese that makes you go “mmm.” Then your tongue meets the complementary gooey, mushy chocolate bit in the middle, making you whisper “ooo.” Then comes the hard chocolate top, the perfect ending to a delicious and scrumptious dessert; you definitely would exclaim an “ahhh.” And earthly heaven is attained when from utter generosity someone adds a strawberry with chocolate sprinkles. Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad was definitely the cheese.

To be honest, I did not know what to expect from Sheikh Murad. A lot is said about him, his approach and his style, but I never had the privilege to listen to him live before. He does have a presence about him; a tall, blonde hair and blue eyed Caucasian man wearing simple modest clothes (his trousers are baggier than normal) and of course his distinct red cap. Him being Caucasian was enough for all the Asians to look at him as he entered the room, all of them thinking, “Hai Allah, yeh tho gora hain!” (Omygod, He’s white!).
He was introduced by the very chilled out and smooth speaking Cambridge ISoc president – smooth speaking is probably programmed in all Cambridge students. Khair, there stood our Sheikh, with no notes, his cap now off, and he began his speech. There is a saying in Urdu, “unki zabaan se phool jarrai thai,” meaning, “from his tongue flowers were blooming.” Every word and letter that Sheikh Murad spoke from the beginning to the end reverberated in the depths of our souls. His style was beautifully flowing with gem after gem being gifted to us and all eyes were transfixed on to him.
His speech was actually very simple to understand, and not going over heads at all and even though he does have a stern looking face, he made us smile and laugh and what was more striking was the message of his speech. Here stood a Professor of Cambridge University with his ocean of knowledge, speaking to an audience who could potentially be key cogs in the future of this country, and all his knowledge boiled down to one main point: Bring back the Age of Happiness like the Salaf did. The only way this can be done is when we love the aakhira more than dunya, so be grateful and show your shukur by praying your five salahs on time. Beauty and subtlety can only be found in simple things.

This heavy dose of ‘wow’ needed time for digestion, and a timely break was given. Now, I am someone who can’t sit still. I need things to do and having had a lot of experience in running events from the backstage, I was itching to help and so I offered and Alhamdulillah the opportunity was given. So I ran around doing stuff, the small stuff that people may not always notice, but Alhamdulillah it didn’t mean I missed out on any of the action. The chocolate gooey and cakey bit was yet to come.
The mushy, comforting stuff began with a sketch of three ISoc Presidents having a heated discussion about the priorities of ISocs. Yours truly was one of the actors and given the honour to act as a hardcore speaking about how our priority should be in taking people away from haraam, whilst the other two highlighted the importance of political activities and establishing essential worship on campus. The idea was to open the floor for the ISocs to speak about their issues and let FOSIS know what their priorities are on campus, so that FOSIS can help them accordingly. I’m not too sure if that was fully achieved, but Alhamdulillah a lot of good points were raised.

The liquid chocolate in all of this was the lovable Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam Al Kawther. He and his turban make you smile, but again, I haven’t heard him live before. His topic was picking up from Sheikh Murad with putting unity as priority and leaving differences to the side. There is much that unites us as humans and as Muslims than things that divide us and it is pitiful that in our day and age we are divided on such small matters. His tangents were quite useful as well which included his experiences of narrow minded people. May Allah reward him for his time and effort. Ameen. He was sandwiched in more cakey parts from Usman Ali and Br Waqas who spoke about the importance of working with the community, explaining that the gap between the different extremes in society is too large and work needs to be done in order to fill that gap.
Mushiness finally met up with the hard chocolate layer. Allah knows best how much I love this layer, because it encompasses the essence of everything you want from life (don’t ask how, it just does…this article has turned out longer than planned and I am craving chocolate cheesecake). I was outside the lecture theatre doing something during one of the breaks and now coming back into a bustling lecture theatre. My gaze stops, I halt in my movement and my heart skips a beat. Brothers and sisters, Dr Hany El-Banna had entered the building.

I am actually not too sure where to start about speaking about this man, and yes he is only a man. To see him like a superman or superhuman would actually do injustice to his character and his work. But he is most definitely an extraordinary human being. If you really want to see a person who is content with his Lord, one only has to look at Dr Hany. His eyes humbled, almost as if he is lacking sleep, his face well kept with a distinct smile constantly there to greet you and I and most definitely a noor, a light projecting from him.
His classic style of engaging the public, asking them questions and joking with them, trying to get some miskeen (or not) brother married to a sister (Rashid, I’m looking at you), makes him a father figure for all of us, whether we are Arab or not; he is that lovable. He whole heartedly believes in the Arabic proverb, “خير الكلام ما قل ودل“ – “the ideal phrase is that which is short and succinct”; his speeches never go on too long. Today he had four basic points to make,
Come closer to the wall and fill the gaps: Don’t wait for the problem to come to you, but rather take a proactive approach in Dawah. Look for the gaps in society and you will always find a hole to fill.

Find alternative solutions: Don’t get stuck in one mentality and thought process. Humans are complex beings and so simple things will not always work. Think outside the box and be different.

Operational engagement: “You have to understand grassroots” (Amandla, I can see you smiling from here). You have to directly engage with people and dirty your hands in the soil to be effective in dawah.

What is next? Allah’s work doesn’t stop at the end of a project, but only when the soul leaves the body. We should be constantly thinking of the next thing to do.

His life story, as well as his powerful and effective ideas, provides inspiration on how to achieve all of this. As I sat at the top of the lecture theatre listening to him speak or sing with the FOSIS president, I found myself crying and battling tears. Here I am, a man at the prime age of 22, full of energy and strength and I have achieved nil because I think I have sufficient excuses to show for my poor outcomes. How shameful is it that the world is in need of good people and good effort, and I am here being selfish, still at the first step of battling sins. A dua escapes my lips, “Oh Allah, make me better than him and give me satisfaction of the heart.” Ameen.

Lost in the flavour, I can’t remember when my teeth sank into the strawberry. A myriad of images of pure brotherly love gushed their way through the night. Whether cleaning the lecture theatre, or standing in the cold outside Teks’s Burger and singing nasheeds, or in the mosque playing signs or participating in the “N –factor”, brothers junior or senior were all engaged in the emotions and feeling of pure love. This is what I came for, my fix of love for the sake of Allah, to be around sincere people who do nothing but remind me of Allah and his Mercy that He has bestowed on me and increase my love for the Mustafa, Habib of Allah, Prophet Muhammad – peace and blessing be upon him.

I slept happy that night with the dua soothing my ears,
ان تدخلني ربي الجنة …هذا اقصى ما اتمنىوتَهبني الدرجات العُليا ….يا ذا المِنة يا رب

Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidupku,dan matiku hanya semata-mata bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam.

Nur Suhaila Zulkifli
Self Access Centre,
Trent Building,
Nottingham.

Sunday 2 January 2011

Inilah Jalanku

"Pernah tak kita bertanya pada diri, jika kita dilahirkan dalam keluarga yang bukan Muslim, adakah kita akan cari Islam itu sendiri?"


Hanya satu soalan. Sebaris ayat yang diaju oleh seorang naqibah. Tapi cukup membuatkan adik usrahnya berfikir panjang.


Adakah dia akan cari Islam itu?


Jika dia sudah ketemu Islam, apa yang seterusnya harus dia cari?


Makin lama menerima tarbiyah, dia makin sedar. Dia percaya syurga itu tidak percuma. Menjadi seorang Muslim bukanlah tiket ke syurga. Jika syurga itu percuma, sudah tentu, neraka hanya ada bahan bakar yang terdiri dari orang yang tidak mengesakan Tuhan. Tiadalah manusia yang diseksa di neraka.


Telah ku temui jalan itu. Jalan yang telah dibaiah seluruh hidupnya. Jalan ini bukan dipilih atas faktor emosi, atas faktor ikutan, atas faktor hati tanpa panduan dalil. Namun atas faktor seluruh ilmu yang ada, dan akal yang membezakan dia dan makhluk lain.


"Wa Allahi, wa billahi, wa taAllahi. Dengan ini, saya berbaiah, akan menegakkan kalimah Allah, di mana sahaja saya berada dan pada bila-bila masa."


Inilah jalannya.. Jalan itu ditemui melalui Al-Quran dan as-sunnah. Sumber lain yang dia ditemui sedikit pun tidak bercanggah dengan sumber asas malah menambahkan lagi keteguhan pohon aqidah perjuangannya. Umpama baja yang tambah menyuburkan.
Moga baiah ini dipegang hingga dia menutup mata. Kerana tiada nikmat dunia yang dapat menandingi bertemu baginda saw di akhirat kelak.




MUHAMMAD SAW Di Mata Tokoh Dunia

1) MAHATMA GANDHI (Komentar mengenai karakter Muhammad di YOUNG INDIA)

"Pernah saya bertanya-tanya siapakah tokoh yang paling mempengaruhi manusia… Saya lebih dari yakin bahwa bukan pedanglah yang memberikan kebesaran pada Islam pada masanya. 


Tapi ia datang dari kesederhanaan, kebersahajaan, kehati-hatian Muhammad; serta pengabdian luar biasa kepada teman dan pengikutnya, tekadnya, keberaniannya, serta keyakinannya pada Tuhan dan tugasnya. Semua ini (dan bukan pedang ) menyingkirkan segala halangan. Ketika saya menutup halaman terakhir volume 2 (biografi Muhammad), saya sedih karena tiada lagi cerita yang tersisa dari hidupnya yang agung.

2) SIR GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.)

"Jika ada agama yang berpeluang menguasai Inggeris bahkan Eropah - beberapa ratus tahun dari sekarang, Islam-lah agama tersebut."


Saya senantiasa menghormati agama Muhammad karena potensi yang dimilikinya. Ini adalah satu-satunya agama yang bagi saya memiliki kemampuan menyatukan dan merubah peradaban. Saya sudah mempelajari Muhammad sesosok pribadi agung yang jauh dari kesan seorang anti-kristus, dia harus dipanggil 'sang penyelamat kemanusiaan."


"Saya yakin, apabila orang semacam Muhammad memegang kekuasaan tunggal di dunia modern ini, dia akan berhasil mengatasi segala permasalahan sedemikian hingga membawa kedamaian dan kebahagiaan yang diperlukan dunia: Ramalanku, keyakinan yang dibawanya akan diterima Eropah di masa datang dan memang ia telah mulai diterima Eropah tika saat ini.


"Dia adalah manusia teragung yang pernah menginjakkan kakinya di bumi ini. Dia membawa sebuah agama, mendirikan sebuah bangsa, meletakkan dasar-dasar moral, memulai sekian banyak gerakan pembaruan sosial dan politik, mendirikan sebuah masyarakat yang kuat dan dinamis untuk melaksanakan dan mewakili seluruh ajarannya, dan ia juga telah merevolusi pikiran serta perilaku manusia untuk seluruh masa yang akan datang.


Dia adalah Muhammad (SAW). Dia lahir di Arab tahun 570 masehi, memulai misi mengajarkan agama kebenaran, Islam (penyerahan diri pada Tuhan) pada usia 40 dan meninggalkan dunia ini pada usia 63. Sepanjang masa kenabiannya yang pendek (23 tahun) dia telah merubah Jazirah Arab dari paganisme dan pemuja makhluk menjadi para pemuja Tuhan yang Esa, dari peperangan dan perpecahan antara suku menjadi bangsa yang bersatu, dari kaum pemabuk dan pengacau menjadi kaum pemikir dan penyabar, dari kaum tak berhukum dan anarkis menjadi kaum yang teratur, dari kemunduran ke keagungan moral. 



Sejarah manusia tidak pernah mengenal tranformasi sebuah masyarakat atau tempat sedahsyat ini bayangkan ini terjadi dalam kurun waktu hanya sedikit di atas DUA DEKAD."


3) MICHAEL H. HART (THE 100: A RANKIN G OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978)


Pilihan saya untuk menempatkan Muhammad pada urutan teratas mungkin mengejutkan semua pihak, tapi dialah satu-satunya orang yang sukses baik dalam tataran sekular mahupun agama. (hal. 33). 


Lamar tine, seorang sejarawan terkemuka menyatakan bahwa: "Jika keagungan sebuah tujuan, kecilnya fasiliti yang diberikan untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut, serta menakjubkannya hasil yang dicapai menjadi tolok ukur kegeniusan seorang manusia; siapakah yang berani membandingkan tokoh hebat manapun dalam sejarah moden dengan Muhammad? Tokoh-tokoh itu membangun pasukan, hukum dan kerajaan saja. Mereka hanyalah menciptakan kekuatan-kekuatan material yang hancur bahkan di depan mata mereka sendiri.

Muhammad bergerak tidak hanya dengan tentera, hukum, kerajaan, rakyat dan dinasti, tapi jutaan manusia di dua per tiga wilayah dunia saat itu; lebih dari itu, ia telah merubah altar-altar pemujaan, sesembahan, agama, pikiran, kepercayaan serta jiwa… Kesabarannya dalam kemenangan dan misinya yang dipersembahkan untuk satu tujuan tanpa sama sekali berhasrat membangun kekuasaan, sembahyang-sembahyangnya, dialognya dengan Tuhan, kematiannnya dan kemenangan-kemenang an (umatnya) setelah kematiannya; semuanya membawa keyakinan umatnya hingga ia memiliki kekuatan untuk mengembalikan sebuah dogma. 



Dogma yang mengajarkan ketunggalan dan keghaiban (immateriality) Tuhan yang mengajarkan siapa sesungguhnya Tuhan. Dia singkirkan tuhan palsu dengan kekuatan dan mengenalkan tuhan yang sesungguhnya dengan kebijaksanaan. Seorang prajurit, ahli hukum, penakluk idea, pengembali dogma-dogma rasional dari sebuah ajaran tanpa pengidolaan( pemujaan) , pendiri 20 kerajaan di bumi dan satu kerajaan spiritual, ialah Muhammad. Dari semua standard bagaimana kehebatan seorang manusia diukur, mungkin kita patut bertanya: adakah terdapat orang yang lebih agung dari dia?"

4) LAMAR TINE, Histoire De La Turquie, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp 276-277


"Dunia telah menyaksikan banyak pribadi-pribadi agung. Namun, dari orang orang tersebut adalah orang yang berjaya pada satu atau dua bidang saja misalnya agama atau militan. 



Hidup dan ajaran orang-orang ini seringkali terselimuti kaburan waktu dan zaman. Begitu banyak spekulasi tentang waktu dan tempat lahir mereka, cara dan gaya hidup mereka, sifat dan perincian ajaran mereka, serta tingkat dan ukuran kejayaan mereka sehingga sulit bagi manusia untuk merekonstruksi ajaran dan hidup tokoh-tokoh ini.

Tidak demikian dengan orang ini. Muhammad (SAW) telah begitu tinggi menggapai dalam berbagai bidang pikir dan perilaku manusia dalam sebuah episod cemerlang sejarah manusia. Setiap perincian dari kehidupan peribadi dan ucapan-ucapannya telah secara tepat dan jelas didokumentasikan dan dijaga dengan teliti sampai saat ini. Keaslian ajarannya begitu terjaga, tidak saja oleh kerana penyulusuran yang dilakukan para pengikut setianya tapi juga oleh para penentangnya. Muhammad adalah seorang agamawan, reformis sosial, teladan moral, penguasa massa, sahabat setia, teman yang menyenangkan, suami yang penuh kasih dan seorang ayah yang penyayang - semua menjadi satu.


Tiada lagi manusia dalam sejarah melebihi atau bahkan menyamainya dalam setiap aspek kehidupan tersebut -hanya dengan keperibadian seperti dia-lah keagungan seperti ini dapat diraih."

5) K. S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO, Professor Philosophy dalam bookletnya, "Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam"


"Kepribadian Muhammad, hhmm.....sangat sulit untuk menggambarkannya dengan tepat. Saya pun hanya boleh menangkap sekilas saja: betapa ia adalah lukisan yang indah. Anda bisa lihat Muhammad sang Nabi, Muhammad sang pejuang, Muhammad si pengusaha, Muhammad si negarawan, Muhammad si ulung, Muhammad si pembaharu, Muhammad si pelindung anak yatim-piatu, Muhammad si pelindung hamba sahaya, Muhammad si pembela hak wanita, Muhammad si hakim, Muhamad si pemuka agama. Dalam setiap peranannya tadi, ia adalah seorang pahlawan."


"Saat ini, 14 abad kemudian, kehidupan dan ajaran Muhammad tetap selamat, tiada yang hilang atau berubah sedikit pun. Ajaran yang menawarkan secercah harapan abadi tentang ubat atas segala penyakit kemanusiaan yang ada dan telah ada sejak masa hidupnya. Ini bukanlah tuntutan seorang pengikutnya tapi juga sebuah simpulan tak terelakkan dari sebuah analisis sejarah yang kritis dan tidak bias."

6) PROF. (SNOUCK) HURGRONJE


Liga bangsa-bangsa yang didirikan Nabi umat Islam telah meletakkan dasar-dasar persatuan internasional dan persaudaraan manusia di atas kedudukan yang universal yang menerangi bagi bangsa lain. Buktinya, sampai saat ini tiada satu bangsa pun di dunia yang mampu menyamai Islam dalam capaiannya mewujudkan idea persatuan bangsa-bangsa.


Dunia telah banyak mengenal konsep ketuhanan, telah banyak individu yang hidup dan misinya lenyap menjadi legenda. Sejarah menunjukkan tiada satu pun legenda ini yang menyamai bahkan sebahagian dari apa yang Muhammad capai. Seluruh jiwa raganya ia curahkan untuk satu tujuan: menyatukan manusia dalam pengabdian kapada Tuhan dalam aturan-aturan ketinggian moral. Muhammad atau pengikutnya tidak pernah dalam sejarah menyatakan bahwa ia adalah putra Tuhan atau seorang jelmaan Tuhan, dia sejak dahulu sampai saat ini menganggap dirinya dan dianggap oleh pengikutnya hanyalah sebagai seorang pesuruh yang dipilih Tuhan.

7) THOMAS CARLYLE in his Heroes And Heroworship


Betapa menakjubkan seorang manusia secara sendirian dapat mengubah suku-suku yang saling berperang dan kaum nomad (Badwi) menjadi sebuah bangsa yang paling maju dan paling berperadaban hanya dalam waktu kurang dari dua dekad.


"Kebohongan yang dipropagandakan kaum Barat yang diselimutkan kepada orang ini (Muhammad) hanyalah mempermalukan diri kita sendiri. "Sesosok jiwa besar yang tenang, seorang yang mahu tidak mahu harus dijunjung tinggi. Dia diciptakan untuk menerangi dunia, begitulah perintah Sang Pencipta Dunia.

8) EDWARD GIBBON and SIMON OCKLEY speaking on the profession of ISLAM


Saya percaya bahawa Tuhan adalah tunggal dan Muhammad adalah pesuruh-Nya adalah pengakuan kebenaran Islam yang mudah dan seragam. Tuhan tidak pernah dihinakan dengan pujaan-pujaan kemakhlukan; penghormatan terhadap Sang Nabi tidak pernah berubah menjadi pengkultusan berlebihan; dan prinsip-prinsip hidupnya telah memberinya penghormatan dari pengikutnya dalam batas-batas akal dan agama

9) (HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRES, London, 1870, p. 54).


Muhammad tidak lebih dari seorang manusia biasa. Tapi ia adalah manusia dengan tugas mulia untuk menyatukan manusia dalam pengabdian terhadap satu dan hanya satu Tuhan serta untuk mengajarkan hidup yang jujur dan lurus sesuai perintah Tuhan. Dia selalu menggambarkan dirinya sebagai `hamba dan pesuruh Tuhan dan demikianlah juga setiap tindakannya.

10) SAROJINI NAIDU, penyair terkenal India (S. Naidu, IDEALS OF ISLAM, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169):


Inilah agama pertama yang mengajarkan dan mempraktikkan demokrasi; di setiap masjid, ketika azan dikumandangkan dan jemaah telah berkumpul, demokrasi dalam Islam terwujud lima kali sehari ketika seorang hamba dan seorang raja berlutut berdampingan dan mengakui: `Allah Maha Besar'..Ermm.. Saya terpukau lagi dan lagi oleh kebersamaan Islam yang secara naluriahnya membuat manusia menjadi bersaudara.

11) DIWAN CHAND SHARMA


"Muhammad adalah sosok penuh kebaikan, pengaruhnya dirasakan dan tak pernah dilupakan orang-orang terdekatnya. (D.C. Sharma, THE PROPHETS OF THE EAST, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12)

12) JAMES A. MICHENER, "Islam: The Misunderstood Religion," in READER'S DIGEST (American edition), May 1955, pp. 68-70.


Muhammad, seorang inspirator yang mendirikan Islam, dilahirkan pada tahun 570 masihi dalam masyarakat Arab penyembah berhala. Yatim semenjak kecil dia secara khusus memberikan perhatian kepada fakir miskin, yatim piatu dan janda, serta hamba sahaya dan kaum lemah. Di usia 20 tahun, dia sudah menjadi seorang pengusaha yang berjaya, dan menjadi pengelola perniagaan seorang janda kaya. Ketika mencapai usia 25, sang majikan melamarnya. Meski usia perempuan tersebut 15 tahun lebih tua Muhammad menikahinya dan tetap setia kepadanya sepanjang hayat sang isteri.


"Seperti halnya para nabi lain, Muhammad memulai tugas kenabiannya dengan sembunyi2 kerana menyedari kelemahannya. Tapi"Baca" adalah perintah yang diperolehnya, -dan meskipun sampai saat ini diyakini bahwa Muhammad tidak boleh membaca dan menulis dan keluarlah dari mulutnya satu kalimat yang akan segera mengubah dunia: "Tiada tuhan selain Tuhan."


"Dalam setiap hal, Muhammad adalah seorang yang mengedepankan akal. Ketika putranya, Ibrahim, meninggal disertai gerhana dan menimbulkan anggapan umatnya bahawa hal tersebut adalah wujud rasa kasihan Tuhan kepadanya, Muhammad berkata: "Gerhana adalah sebuah kejadian alam biasa, adalah suatu kebodohan mengkaitkannya dengan kematian atau kelahiran seorang manusia.


"Sesaat setelah ia meninggal, sebahagian pengikutnya hendak memujanya sebagaimana Tuhan dipuja, akan tetapi penerus kepemimpinannya (Abu Bakar) menepis keingingan ummatnya itu dengan salah satu pidato keagamaan terindah sepanjang masa:



`Jika ada diatara kalian yang menyembah Muhammad, maka ketahuilah bahawa ia telah meninggal. Tapi jika Tuhan-lah yang hendak kalian sembah, ketahuilah bahawa Ia hidup selamanya (Ayat terkait: Q.S. Al Imran, 144 - pen.)

13) W. MONTGOMERY WATT, Mohammad At Mecca, Oxford, 1953, p. 52.


"Kesiapannya menempuh tentangan atas keyakinannya, ketinggian moral para pengikutnya, serta pencapaiannya yang luar biasa semuanya menunjukkan kehebatannya. Mengira Muhammad sebagai seorang penipu hanyalah memberikan masalah dan bukan jawapan. Lebih dari itu, tiada figur hebat yang digambarkan begitu buruk di Barat selain Muhammad.

14) ANNIE BESANT, The Life And Teachings Of Muhammad, Madras, 1932, p.


"Sangat mustahil bagi seseorang yang mempelajari karakter Nabi Bangsa Arab, yang mengetahui bagaimana ajarannya dan bagaimana hidupnya untuk merasakan selain hormat terhadap beliau, salah satu utusan-Nya. Dan meskipun dalam semua yang saya gambarkan banyak hal-hal yang terasa biasa, namun setiap kali saya membaca ulang kisah-kisahnya, setiap kali pula saya mersakan kekaguman dan penghormatan kepada sang Guru Bangsa Arab tersebut."

15) BOSWORTH SMITH, Mohammad And Mohammadanism, London, 1874, p. 92.


"Dia adalah perpaduan Caesar dan Paus; tapi dia adalah sang Paus tanpa lakonannya dan seorang caesar tanpa Legionnaire- nya (kisahnya): tanpa tentera, tanpa pengawal, tanpa istana, tanpa pengahasilan tetap; jika ada seorang manusia yang layak untuk berkata bahawa dialah wakil Tuhan penguasa dunia, Muhammad lah orang itu, kerana dia memiliki kekuatan meski ia tak memiliki segalainstrument atau penyokongnya.

16) JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER, M.D., L.L.D., A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329-330


"Empat tahun setelah kematian Justinianus, pada 569 AD, telah lahir di Mekkah Arabia seorang manusia yang sangat besar pengaruhnya terhadap ummat manusia..Muhammad.

17) JOHN AUSTIN, "Muhammad the Prophet of Allah," in T.P. 's and Cassel's Weekly for 24th September 1927.


Dalam kurun waktu, hanya sedikit lebih dari satu tahun, ia telah menjadi pemimpin di Madinah. Kedua tangannya memegang sebuah tuas yang siap mengguncang dunia.

18) PROFESSOR JULES MASSERMAN


"Pasteur dan Salk adalah pemimpin dalam satu hal (intelektualitas) . Gandhi dan Konfusius pada hal lain serta Alexander, Caesar dan Hitler mungkin pemimpin pada kategori kedua dan ketiga (keagamaan dan militan). Jesus dan Buddha mungkin hanya pada kategori kedua. Mungkin pemimpin terbesar sepanjang masa adalah Muhammad, yang berjaya pada ketiga kategori tersebut. Dalam skala yang lebih kecil Musa melakukan hal yang sama.



Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidupku,dan matiku hanya semata-mata bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam. 


Nur Suhaila Zulkifli 
Nottingham.

Pelepasan Cukai 2018

Tahun 2018 bakal berakhir. Tinggal berapa hari sahaja lagi nak buat apa-apa bayaran yang boleh kurangkan cukai. Jadi di sini, saya nak kon...